Wanted: One sign we matter

Wanted: One sign we matter

Page 5

As one First Nation leader after another takes note of the federal government trend of moving away from constructive engagement and towards top-down authoritarian paternalism, we see, as Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said on Sept. 26, a pattern emerging. It's an old pattern; one that will not lead in a positive direction for Aboriginal peoples.

Reliance on fine points of law or murky and ever-changing bureaucratic processes and policies to avoid doing the morally right thing has always been a Canadian hallmark when it comes to dealings with Indigenous peoples. And it's something that hasn't changed under "Canada's New Government."

Get used to seeing that term, by the way. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decreed that all government correspondence must contain those words: the Conservative Party of Canada is "Canada's New Government" and they don't want anyone to forget it, even for a second. And they certainly aren't even a little bit liberal, are they? Here's a list of the un-liberal things our new federal government has done just recently.

? Cut funding for education about the dangers of tobacco use to a group that uses tobacco more than mainstream populations.

? Made Elders feel like liars if they can't prove they attended the residential schools that Canadian law forced them to attend half a century ago.

? Refused to intervene when both the treaty right to health care and the treaty right to be tax exempt went under fire in Ontario.

? Showed little enthusiasm for the idea of employing the same level of DNA testing to verify Native status than is allowed for immigrants to Canada.

? Cut the court challenges program that allowed those with no money to bring forward legitimate legal challenges of a government position. (Guess who will be hurt most by that one?)

So the approach to public policy and governance in this country is now being marketed like breakfast cereal or laundry detergent. The term "new and improved" has often been seen as salesman's puffery, as marketing gimmickry that is supposed to be swallowed with a healthy dose of skepticism.

And we are growing increasingly skeptical as each day passes.

The only thing that's "new" about the efforts of the Indian residential schools office officials demanding proof from students who last saw the inside of a school a half-century ago (when those records were at all times in the hands of federal authorities) is that the dishonesty and heartless behavior of federal officials seems have hit an all time "new" low.

All that's old is new again in Ottawa. Ish Theilheimer, the founder of the alternative on-line news site Straight Goods, invited Dr. George Lakoff, an American linguist and cognitive scientist, to a conference in Merrickville, Ont. in early September. Lakoff spoke about how right wing politicians frame issues by appealing to deep-seeded, almost unconscious values.

"Lakoff explained how his scientific research led him to his theory of political framing. He was bewildered at how right-wingers like George W. Bush could link up seemingly unconnected issues like gun control, abortion and opposition to environmentalism. The clue he came upon was repeated references to family, family values, and family metaphors," Theilheimer wrote.

The common theme in most right wing messages appeals to the image of the strict-father family, Lakoff believes. Ah paternalism, we know it well. It looks like the great White father is making a comeback.

"This family model is founded on strict discipline, order, hierarchies, male dominance and an unfettered business climate in which 'deserving' people with discipline can get their just rewards without the interference of government regulation, unions or environmental laws," Theilheimer wrote.

We've been holding out hope that the Indian Affairs minister wouldn't buy into this way of looking at the world, that his Progressive Conservative pedigree would mean that he wouldn't subscribe to more Refrm Party-like thinking. We're starting to wonder if it's time to put away that torch. Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse's account of a meeting with the minister (see page 8) makes us wonder if the paternalism of the past isn't new again.